ESA 7 June 9-10, 2008

 Develop an understanding of the accreditation requirements for schools not currently listed in improvement versus schools currently listed in improvement.  Discuss, develop, plan and/or modify district-wide data retreat agendas.  Critique, develop, and/or modify a district-wide school improvement plan.  Critique, develop, and/or modify your district’s professional development plan as it pertains to your school improvement needs.

ACCREDITATION/SIP DATA/ASSESSMENT PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT NEXT STEPS

 Handouts  CD

 Take care of personal needs  Mute cell phones  Limit side conversations  Others???

1.Refer to Roles handout 2.Determine which roles are necessary for this workshop 3.Assign roles

Individually fill out the Self-Assessment Continuum As a group, place sticky dots on the charts provided Discuss strengths and areas for improvement

 Comparison of South Dakota Accreditation and SIP Requirements  FAQ – Accreditation ◦ #2 (red highlighted text) ◦ #5 (options) ◦ #6 (timelines)

 SIP Criteria Checklist

 Mostly the same components ◦ More comprehensive for SIP  Rate your plans based on criteria checklist ◦ Blue – We do this well ◦ Green – We are doing this ◦ Yellow – Area of need / concern ◦ Red – Missing or needing development

The South Dakota Board of Education approved new administrative rules for District Accreditation and Improvement. The new Administrative Rules 24:43 have outlined the process for required school improvement plans for all public and private school districts that wish to seek school state accreditation.

 An improvement plan sets forth policies, processes, practices, and strategies that are grounded in research and will lead to continuous improvement of student learning.  The plan identifies a challenging set of goals and sets forth actions that will be taken to achieve the goals.  The plan includes periodic benchmarks, measurement processes, and evaluation protocols.  An improvement plan is subject to annual review.

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SIX CHICKS

Find the goals/strategies/ intervention section within your Accreditation or SIP Plan

Groups of 3-4: As an adult learner: 1. What are some of the powerful strategies you use to learn new information? 2. How did you learn those strategies? 3. What are some important learning strategies to teach students? 4. How do we teach struggling learners to use learning strategies? 1234

Content Skills Strategies

Unpacked Standards Standard :Use decoding and word recognition skills to develop vocabulary and increase fluency when reading unfamiliar text. Student Speak (Skills)  I can read unfamiliar text by showing what I know about…  Correctly sounding out a word  Correctly reading a word without sounding it out  Build a list of words I can read  Read quickly and correctly

Content Skills Strategies

What do ALL students need to know and be able to do? How will we know when they learn it? How will we help students who have difficulty learning it? How do we teach so all students will learn?

 On your own  One hour and 15 minutes for lunch

Discuss your past experiences with data retreats.

Prioritize & Set Goals Study & Plan Successful Strategies Observe Patterns & Hypothesize Student Data Program & Structures Data Family & Community Data Professional Practices Data

I don’t hear him whistling. It is assessment that helps us know the difference between teaching and learning. I said I taught him; I didn’t say he learned it. I taught my dog Spot how to whistle.

 Why do we assess? Why is it important?  How do we use assessments & assessment results?  What do assessments tell us? Understanding by Design: Grant Wiggins & Jay McTighe Guiding Questions

We may want to assess where a student… …IS.

We may want to assess where a student… IS GOING!

We may want to assess what a student… HAS LEARNED.

But ultimately, we want to know… …what to do next for that student’s learning.

Assessment OF Learning (Summative Assessment): How much have students learned in the past? Assessment FOR Learning (Formative Assessment): How can we help our students learn more in the future?

It isn’t the method that determines whether the assessment is summative or formative… …it is how the results are used.

Assessment Activity

Directions:  Work in teams.  Write one assessment per sticky note that is given to students in the classroom, school, or district.  Determine which category each definition fits into.  You must choose one or the other. Decide where it best fits.

 Standards-Based Data Retreats ◦ How is the assessment data currently being used? ◦ Which assessments can be used to measure progress towards standards?

Standard Learning Target StudentsMoveUpTheLadderThroughASequenceOfLearningSteps OF Assessment OF Learning FOR Assessments FOR Learning

Unpacked Standards Assessment OF Learning Standard: Use decoding and word recognition skills to develop vocabulary and increase fluency when reading unfamiliar text. Assessment FOR Learning Student Speak: I can read unfamiliar text by showing what I know about (use)... ◦ Correctly sounding out words ◦ Correctly reading a word without sounding it out ◦ Build a list of words I can read quickly and correctly decoding word recognition skills develop vocabulary increase fluency

July 2007IDEA Partnership45  How often do I have to progress monitor?

The “frequency” of assessment is determined by how often we want to make a decision on whether a student is in need of an instructional change to increase student achievement.

 Monitor adult actions, not just scores.  Monitor constructively: it’s a “treasure hunt,” not a witch hunt. (Doug Reeves, 2008)

Five times greater gains in achievement with improved monitoring.  Doug Reeves: Focus/Monitoring Relationships, Ahead of the Curve Conference, Toronto, 2008

 What materials might your team want to have available for team planning time tomorrow afternoon?

 First Square: Write down a new learning or question you still have from yesterday…

 Walk around the room.  “Give” your learning or question to one person and “Get” his/her learning or question. Quickly explain or discuss.  Then find another person and repeat the process.  Continue until time is called or your matrix is completed.

 Set the vision for year-long professional development – based on data ◦ Handout at August In-service ◦ Year-long professional development plan ◦ Professional development content ◦ Expectations of implementation

 All districts are in different places  A Professional Development Journey Handout ◦ Green: Currently evident ◦ Pink: Weak area or not evident  You will have 20 minutes to begin your discussion

 Individually, complete Professional Development Capacity Survey  As a group, score your survey (Refer to example on how to score survey)  Determine perceived strengths and weaknesses  30 minutes to complete this activity

 Select weak area or area of focus  Brainstorm why this area might be weak or needs to be a focus (true brainstorm) ◦ 2 minutes  Cross off what you can’t control

 Examine your Professional Development Calendar.  How many professional development days are scheduled?  Complete PD Planning Guide for Professional Development.  30 minutes to complete activity.

 Are you on target for the 2008/09 school year?  What additional resources might your district need?  How can you ensure all staff receive and understand the professional development calendar in August for 08/09 school year?

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 Year-long goals but what smaller steps can you take along the way to make sure you get there?  From your discussions, what went well that you want to keep, what changes or deletions need to be made?

Einstein’s definition of insanity… “ Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

67  How can you utilize this afternoon to prepare for: ◦ Developing or modifying accreditation/SIP plan ◦ Developing or modifying goals/strategies/interventions ◦ Planning for data retreat ◦ Developing or modifying professional development plans

July 2007IDEA Partnership68 ? !. ? ? ! !..

Our job is to help kids believe they are capable learners.